


Redemption

by gaysparkler



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, I always redeem Blackwall sue me, Redemption, set after Revelations, transition from blackwall to thom rainier, which is also the title of this fic hahaaa
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 08:29:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14398227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaysparkler/pseuds/gaysparkler
Summary: "Right now, I am just a man with his heart laid bare. I leave it in your hands."Everything was put on the table. He was just waiting for Lavellan's verdict to fall on him.





	Redemption

Blackwall—Thom would never forget the look of pure shock on Artemis’ face that day on the gallows. Then the heartbreak and anger following his confession in the cell.

_You wanted me to think you left me? That you were dead or worse?_

_You would break my heart and call it better?_

She had asked him everything, and he answered. He had nothing to lose anymore. She walked away from him without looking back.

It took three days until he was rescued. In the middle of the night, in the shadows of Val-Royeaux, he was brought back to Skyhold in a cart specifically designed to carry criminals. He spent a few days in a cell in the fortress until he was chained and escorted to the throne room. The stares of all his friends were like arrows shot in his back. He did not know if he could call them friends anymore. Then he saw her. The Inquisitor, sat up straight on her throne, the light pouring through the stained glass behind her creating a halo. She truly seemed to be a holy being in this exact moment, about to strike her divine judgement upon a poor mortal. Not that he did not deserve it.

She pardoned him. He was confused, almost angry. After everything he did, that was the best thing she thought of?

_You have your freedom._

He did not want it. He did not deserve it. He killed too many people to be absolved of his crimes! He protested. He did not look at her in the eyes.

_You_ _’re free to atone as the man you are. Not the traitor you thought you were or the warden you pretended to be._

He panicked. How was he supposed to be with her as Thom Rainier? She promised they would make it work, but it would not be easy. The betrayal was still fresh in her mind, a wound that would perhaps take years to heal.

There he was now, standing bare-chested in front of the tall mirror in her quarters, a knife in hand. He was no longer Blackwall. He untied his hair, held it in his fist, brought the knife against it and cut the locks. They fell silently to the floor and he did not look at the small pile. When it was short enough—shorter than in his youth, he moved on to his beard. Inhaling deeply, he made the first cut. After all these years, he forgot what he looked like underneath. He did not shave the beard completely; he left some stubble there, not wanting to go back to such a boyish appearance, but he did appear much younger now. He truly was no longer Blackwall. He heard the door creak behind him and quickly spun to see who entered the Inquisitor’s quarters. He should not have been surprised to see Artemis walk in. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Thom. Then a smile lit up her face as she kept moving towards him.

“Looking good, Rainier,” she said. The name was still new. He did not like it, but it was better than calling him by what he was not. Outside, she still referred to him as Blackwall, but when they were alone, he was Thom. They both had agreed on that. He helped her remove part of her day clothes, leaving her in a tank top and breeches. She then surged forward to claim Thom’s lips with her own. Her hands reached up to run through the much shorter locks. When they parted, she put both her hands on Thom’s face to feel it without his thick beard. She pressed her forehead to his.

“I love you,” she whispered.


End file.
